Hallett Cove East Primary School

We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we gather on. We acknowledge the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of the Kaurna people to country and we respect and value their past, present and ongoing connection to the land and cultural beliefs. 

• Monday 9th March - Adelaide Cup Public Holiday
• Tuesday 10th March - Student Free Day
• Friday 13th March - Whole School Assembly (7E & 9W)
• 11th - 20th March: NAPLAN for Year 3 & 5 Students
• 23rd - 27th March: R-4 Swimming Week
• Thursday 2nd April: Autism Acceptance Day

Dear families,

NAPLAN 2026

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) commences next week. NAPLAN is a nationwide assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It measures key skills in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The purpose of NAPLAN is to provide schools and families with information about how students are progressing in these important learning areas and to help schools identify strengths and areas where additional support may be beneficial.

While NAPLAN provides useful information about learning, it is only one snapshot of a child’s progress. Classroom learning, teacher observations and everyday student learning also play an important role in understanding how students are developing.

For children in Years 3 and 5, NAPLAN can feel like a big event, so it’s important that they feel safe, calm and supported throughout the week. Our focus is on helping students approach the tests with confidence and a positive mindset.

We are reminded that students learn best when they feel regulated, connected and ready to engage. Families can help support children during NAPLAN week by focusing on wellbeing and routine rather than performance.

At school, we continue to use strategies such as check-ins, brain breaks and calm learning environments to help students stay regulated and ready to learn. As always, our focus is on supporting every child to feel safe, confident and ready to do their best.

Maintaining consistent morning and evening routines, focusing on effort not results, supporting regulation and staying connected with your child are some of the ways you can support from home. Thank you to our families for partnering with us to ensure students feel calm, encouraged and supported during NAPLAN week.

Year 1 Numeracy Checks

You may have heard that the Department for Education has introduced the Year 1 Numeracy Check across all South Australian public schools in 2026. Numeracy checks are designed to help schools monitor the development of foundational numeracy skills in Year 1 students.

The Numeracy Check is a short, one-on-one assessment that focuses on core skills such as counting, recognising numbers, understanding patterns and early number concepts. The purpose is to identify each student’s strengths and any areas where further support may be needed, allowing teachers to adjust their learning programs accordingly.

Year 1 class teachers have been conducting the numeracy checks this week.  If you have any questions, or would like further information on how you can support your child’s numeracy development at home, please contact your child’s teacher.

Governing Council AGM

We held our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday evening. It was terrific to hear from our new lighthouse leaders, who proudly shared their highlights for the 2025 school year. It is always great to reflect on the year just gone and acknowledge all that is achieved in a school year. The school’s Annual Report for 2025 was tabled at the meeting and a copy can be found on the school website.

The AGM is also a chance to elect new and returning governing council members for 2026. Welcome to Laura Sizer, Wendy Fisher and Jennifer Wood who are joining the council for the first time. We look forward to working with you all. Following our first official governing council meeting of the new council, we will update you further on governing council office bearers and sub-committees.

Farewell Bruce

This newsletter, we say farewell to Bruce Norris who has stepped down from his volunteering role at our school. Bruce has been an absolute legend for many years since his retirement, volunteering mainly in the garden and providing countless students with the opportunity to learn more about the garden and its produce. Always keen for a chat and to share his wisdom and good humour with staff and students, Bruce will be missed by our community. Thank you, Bruce, for your significant contribution to the Hallett Cove East school community.

Student Free Day

Please be reminded of our Student Free Day on Tuesday 10th March. Our staff will be working with Science of Learning (SOL) Education in Mathematics with a particular focus on developing further expertise in number fluency across the school. School will resume as normal on Wednesday 11th March.

With regards

Matthew Chapman

Principal

Beginning Our Work in Mathematics: Building Fact Fluency with SOL (Science of Learning)

This year at Hallett Cove East Primary School we are beginning an exciting focus on fact fluency in mathematics, informed by the science of learning and the professional learning shared by Liana McCurry and Leah Draper from SOL Education.

As a first step, our staff are currently collecting student data on number fact knowledge and fluency. This information will help us understand where our students are in their learning and identify areas of strength and areas that need further development.

On our upcoming Student Free Day, teachers will work alongside Liana McCurry and Leah Draper to analyse this data and use it to inform our classroom practice. This collaborative process will help us plan targeted teaching approaches and consistent fluency routines across the school.

Research in the science of learning shows that when students can quickly and accurately recall number facts, their working memory is freed up to focus on more complex mathematical thinking such as problem solving, reasoning and applying strategies in new situations. Fact fluency refers to students being able to efficiently recall and use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts so they no longer rely on slow counting strategies.

Following our data analysis, teachers will begin implementing evidence-informed fluency routines in classrooms. These will include short daily practice, explicit teaching of strategies, regular review, and opportunities for students to retrieve previously learned facts so that knowledge moves into long-term memory.

Our goal is to ensure all students develop strong foundations in number, giving them the confidence and skills they need to engage successfully with more complex mathematics.

We look forward to sharing more about this work as it develops across the year.

Kind regards,

Robyn Physick

Deputy Principal

Supporting Your Child with Friendships – Free Parent Resources

Last year at school we used the U R Strong friendship program with some of our small friendship support groups to help students build skills in communication, problem-solving and managing everyday friendship challenges.

We have no formal affiliation with U R Strong beyond using some of their resources, but we found the language and strategies very helpful for students, so we wanted to share their free Parent Portal as a resource for families who may find it useful.

The Parent Portal includes short videos and practical guidance to help parents understand and support children through common friendship situations. It covers topics such as: • Understanding the difference between friendship conflict and bullying • How to respond when your child comes home upset about a friendship issue • Helping children develop communication and problem-solving skills • Supporting children to build confidence and resilience in friendships

You can access the free parent resources here: https://urstrong.com/parents

We have also added some helpful resources to our school Wellbeing Hub website: https://sites.google.com/halcoveeps.sa.edu.au/hcepswellbeinghub/home

If you visit the “Supporting Children” tab and go to the Social Skills section, you will find some handy posters including “Friendship Facts” and the “Friendship Cycle” (putting out friendship fires). These provide simple language and a clear process that children can use when working through small friendship problems.

Friendship challenges are a normal part of growing up, and learning how to work through them helps children develop important life skills.

As we encourage students to do at school, if something happens that they need help with, it is important that they reach out to a trusted adult at school so we can support them and follow things up appropriately.

As always, we are here to help and work together with families to support every student’s wellbeing.

Warmest wishes,

Katrina Leucuta

STUDENT WELLBEING LEADER  (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

Week 10, Thursday 2nd April, our school will be acknowledging Autism Acceptance Day. Over the coming weeks, please continue to check the School Newsletter, Audiri posts, and your child’s Class Dojo for information regarding what our school will be doing on this day.

This year, for Autism Acceptance Day, we will be celebrating everyone’s individuality. Because of this, our school will be having a casual free day where students are encouraged to wear clothes which promote their individual personality. Remember to keep the outfits school appropriate and sun safe. NO gold coin donation will be required as it is a day for the students to celebrate their individuality.

A special lunch order will also be offered on this day. Please ensure you have placed your child’s order by the set date via QKR. No other lunch orders will be available on this day. 

Many thanks,

Renee Fisher

Volunteers are important to our school community. Our canteen relies on help from volunteers to deliver a meal service to our pupils.

To enable us to provide a varied recess and lunch menu offer to our pupils we really do need your help.   

If you have a spare hour or more we would welcome your support.

Not registered with the school as a volunteer?  Volunteer application packs are available from the front office containing all the information you need to submit your registration as a volunteer...... WE NEED YOU

The shop is stocked with a variety of second hand uniform items. The money raised is given back to the school and utilised in fundraising projects.

Remember that if you have any unused uniform items in good clean condition, we'd love to receive them.  They can be left at the office anytime. Thank you.

Qkr App (pronounced quicker) is Hallett Cove East Primary School and Out of School Hours/Vacation Care preferred form of payment. 

Please click for more details Qkr App

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